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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2005-01-04
Get a degree — in something!
By Jim McNay, Brooks Institute of Photography
"Get a job." We all hear the parental plea. We all feel the pressure.
The temptation to leave school and take a job in photography if offered while still in school can be tempting.
The offer gratifies one's ego, showing a photographer is ready to be in the business at some level without even finishing his or her education. The thought of an income and a regular outlet for photographic work is exciting. And sometimes, the romance of being in the field instead of the classroom is overwhelming.
It’s seductive. But declining the job offered now and completing a degree—though it may seem like a longer passage into the profession—may actually be a faster road to where the student wants to go.
For it is not unusual for editors—today, next year, or one day—to want their team to have a degree of some kind.
At the first level, completing a four-year degree (however many years it takes) shows a photographer can make a promise to deliver on a long-term commitment and actually complete the task. While this may not look like an uncommon accomplishment, it often serves as a basic rite of passage into the professional ranks of journalism and photojournalism. The student started on a four-year quest and completed the journey. Mission accomplished.
The opposite may send potent signals in the other direction. A major missing element on a resume such as a completed degree might make editors wonder about an individual's ability to deliver the goods when the pressure is on.
The good news is the degree need not always be in photography or journalism. Employers who look for a degree often want to see it is there. Often they are less concerned what subject the degree is in.
So an interview often goes: Does the resume show the degree is complete? If yes, OK, move on to the portfolio, because the key will often be the pictures anyway.
How important are degrees for those who already have some journalism experience? The degree can help open the door to the next step, the next promotion.
After some time in service with an organization there is sometimes a chance to move into editing, management, or some other interesting challenge around photography and journalism. Chances are the photographer never considered such an option when they left school.
And sometimes in the course of life, opportunities a photographer might never have thought would be attractive suddenly are the perfect job at the moment.
For example, sometimes a chance to work nights and weekends on the picture desk frees an employee to watch young children—or just be part of their lives—during the day. Inside one family, this might be a perfect life option at the time.
But if the company demands a degree for someone moving into these slots, the perfect job may become the perfect frustration.
Similar possibilities abound. Photographers sometimes volunteer at a junior high school and discover the fun of teaching. If they suddenly see they want to pursue this at the local community college or university, there may be little chance without at least the completion of that first degree. That is the entry-level ticket.
In short, completing the four-year degree can only open doors to a variety of experiences in journalism, photography and a variety of other experiences. Not to do so tends to slam closed any number of doors.
Bottom line: Finish. Finish now.
Photographers, particularly those in school or seeking to break into the photojournalism field, are welcome to send ideas for future columns to Jim McNay at jim.mcnay@brooks.edu.
Questions about getting started in photojournalism that might be answered in future columns are also welcome.
Related Links:
Jim McNay's Member Page
Brooks NPPA Student Chapter
Brooks Institute of Photography
Related Email Addresses:
Jim McNay: jim.mcnay@brooks.edu
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